Harry Potter and the Wizard's Bond
by KuyouFox
Summary: Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, abandoned on the street at age two. What happens when he's picked up by the family with a witch like him that takes in a Veela, and becomes friends with a Greengrass of all people? Strong/Smart Harry, Harry/Harem, Harry/Fleur/Nymphadora/Daphne On Hiatus Until Summer.
1. Chapter 1

About the story you're choosing to read; there are a few differences in it compared to canon:

1) Harry's a Metamorphmagus along with Nymphadora / Tonks.

2) Tonks will be younger and in Harry's age group and Fleur will be in Harry's age group as well.

3) There won't be seven Horcruxes, only from the journal that will be explained later on and the one from Nagini. I always felt that the soul, if it could be split seven separate times, how the hell could you even think let alone mastermind impressive schemes and convoluted plans. Without a soul in the HP universe is like not living essentially. If you don't have a soul, you're just a walking body with nothing to define yourself. With only two splits, I feel that would be slightly more realistic, plus the reason behind only two will hopefully be a refreshing change.

**A/N: So I had gotten multiple reviews and PMs asking and pointing out what was wrong so I decided to rewrite the first three chapters. Daphne will still be in the pairing, but later on so don't worry! =D**

**Another rather significant change that was done: Harry wasn't abused and was abandoned at the age of two instead of six and Fleur coming to live with the Tonks family is under entirely different circumstances. Hope you enjoy the rewrite and have a Happy New Year (with an extra Merry ****_Late_**** Christmas.)!**

**_Prologue- _**

"Vernon, we can't keep him here anymore. The past year was more than enough and I don't want him hurting our little Dittykins with his _Freakishness._" A woman that looked almost like a horse in a way, with a long neck, and bucked teeth said to her husband, a man that resembled a whale as well. They were standing over a boy with raven black hair no older than looked no older than two or three. The odd part of the situation was two separate occurrences happening in the baby room where another baby, Dudley Dursley, slept.

The first thing that would confuse anyone without even looking at anything other than their faces was the emotions running through them. Fear, Revulsion, and the most prominent hovering around both of them was an odd mixture of both Rage and Pity. Almost as if they never wanted what was happening to the baby, nor to anyone else for that matter. And anger at having to pick up the pieces from with which they were so unceremoniously dumped upon them.

The second occurrence was focused on the little boy, Harry.

Now, there were always odd things happening around him. Various toys that he wanted to play with would rise up into the air and _magically_ fly towards him. If he wanted to get out of the cramped area where he slept, he would appear on the ground and begin to crawl around the room.

But, by far the oddest thing to occur was what was happening right now.

His hair was changing to the various shades that a rainbow had. Green, red, blue, yellow and back to his raven black hair, and even the length of his hair would grow out a few inches only to recede back to his original unruly length. This second occurrence was by far, the worst in their eyes. What would happen if he grew to hate Dudley and would hide him away in a closet or somewhere else while he took on how he looked. Even though he could only mess with his hair, that didn't mean it could advance farther and in their eyes, that was the scary part.

As the whale of a man thought about it, even though it did not take long for him to decide, he had made up his mind. The only thing left in his mind to do was to tell his wife, the buck toothed woman, Petunia, about it.

"Petunia," he said in an unrecognizable tone to Petunia, "The letter we had gotten with _him_, said where a magic pub was where the entrance to their version of a Mall is at. Let's just drop him off on the curb near there. I don't want him to hurt Dudley, or draw any attention onto us. This new level of _Freakishness_ is too much and I won't stand for it." He inwardly grimaced at the words he stated.

He stood up straight and with an air of finality that Petunia agreed with wholeheartedly, they made up their minds.

Harry Potter would no longer live at Private Drive #4 any longer.

**_XXX-XXX_**

"I'm sorry it had to come to this Harry." Vernon said with sadness hovering over the words that spoke with the conclusion of one life but the hope of another opening up. "I always did care for you, even when your Aunt wanted you gone; but I don't want you to hurt Dudley and with Petunia there…" He started tearing up and choked back a sob as he stared at his nephew. "I'm sorry little Harry. Know that I always loved you and it's better this way, knowing that you'll live a good life without anything bad happening because of your Aunt hating magic.

"I love you." Vernon repeated with a sad smile on his face as he put the bundled up Harry on the curb near the Leaky Cauldron in London. And at that he placed a small letter written in his own handwriting in the blanket holding Harry, placed a kiss on his forehead and left hearing a little giggle coming from the bundle. Vernon left with a smile on his face, shedding a few pale glistening tears along the way back to Private Drive with a single thought in his mind.

_'Be safe my nephew.'_

**_XXX-XXX_**

Andromeda Tonks was not having a good night.

The work at St. Mungos was all paperwork and nothing of what she actually loved doing; healing. When anyone asked why she liked healing so much she would respond with a rather respectable answer in return. The answer was always along the lines of, 'I honestly love what I do and I enjoy the feelings of joy and happiness that come with healing a patient. You get the feeling that you did something _good_ and _wholesome_. It's almost as if when they get better, the mood around them improves including the other patients that are in the room, and it lights up the area. That's what I try to seek as an end result to every one of my healings.'

When she finished with all of the paperwork she sighed and left the hospital as her shift was over and Theodore Tonks (Ted), her husband, was expecting her home within another ten minutes. She looked at her watch and saw the date read as:

**_July 31_****_st_****_, 1982_**

**_Sunday, 11:45 P.M. _**

_'Just enough time for a quick drink over at the Leaky Cauldron.' _She thought to herself and left with her white trench coat like cloak that all Healers used on site. With a spin on her heels after exiting the hospital, she apparated to the outside of the Leaky Cauldron with a not so subtle crack filling the air with the noise, signifying her rather poor mood.

However, that same crack was the same thing that made a baby gurgle and coo. Andromeda stopped for a moment and slowly turned to the noise and froze on the spot. There was a baby just sitting there, not even a few feet away from her and she would've missed it entirely if it hadn't made any noise. She walked up to it and saw the letter that was written and turned to the baby she now knew as Harry Potter, the proclaimed 'Savior of the Wizarding World'.

Andromeda picked bundled Harry up with a smile growing on her face. "Hi there Harry," she cooed to the laughing baby, "I guess I'll be one of your guardians. My husband and I, we have a little baby girl. No older than you and from what the letter from your loving Uncle, has the same ability as my daughter."

Harry's response was one of the first words that he had spoken that he had heard his cousin Dudley say so many times, but from Harry it somehow seemed like a question, "Mama?"

Andromeda's heart seemed to clench and her motherly instincts came into play once again and she smiled whilst twirling him around, her cloak flapping about in the air around her. "Yes, I'll be your Mama Harry, but I won't be able to be the real one. I'll try to be just as good though." She promised with heartwarming smile that would melt even the coldest of hearts.

"Let's go home Harry."

**_XXX-XXX_**

"Here Ted, read this." Andromeda said after explaining where she found Harry and her decision to take him in. Ted took the letter and opened it, shocked at its contents.

_Dear Whoever this May Be,_

_If you are reading this, then I have decided that it's in my nephew's best decision to leave the house that he's been raised in for the past year. _

_His name is Harry James Potter which you should know from what I've learned about him. The reason he was dropped off at the Leaky Cauldron was because his Aunt, my wife, has always been hateful of magic and I don't want to start hating my nephew or for his memories of me to be of hate and not fondness. I'd rather he be treated kindly and with respect if at all possible._

_I don't know how relevant this is, but he's had a great deal of 'magical' accidents which include him almost… teleporting? I'm not sure but he teleports to the ground from his crib and levitates things towards him when he can't get them. _

_His most recent and by far the most interesting but the one that set my wife off and slightly put me off was that he began shifting his hair to the colors of the rainbow and the length of his hair seemed to both grow and recede at incredible rates. _

_I've wasted enough time and my wife might be a little suspicious at taking this long, but tell my nephew that I love him and I… I'm sorry._

_Love, _

_Vernon G. Dursley_

Andromeda took the letter back after Ted finished reading it and smiled with him. "Well," Ted frowned for a second, "I guess we now have an adopted son, or should we be his aunt and uncle since we knew his parents?"

"Not sure…" Andromeda looked indecisive before it cleared up, "We'll let him make the choice when he's older then. Until then, we might as well resign ourselves to be called Mama, and Papa or Daddy." She smiled, looking down at Harry and her daughter, Nymphadora, asleep next to each other.

Then a thought ran through her head and she looked at Ted with a momentary look of horror. "Oh no… Oh no… if Nymphadora has the Black family sense of humor that skipped over me and Harry has his father's we're doomed."

Ted just laughed. "The years to come will be fun enough then."

**_Chapter 1-_**

Sunlight filtered down, unopposed to awaken the unwilling members of the Tonks family home. Some of the residents took it better than others and others worse. Harry groaned and cracked his eyes, squinting them almost automatically. He sighed and looked over to the clock he had gotten for a present a few years back – that unfortunately was enforced with several charms such as the unbreakable charm as the most prominent – to check the date.

**_August 31_****_st_****_, 1991_**

**_Friday, 6:39 A.M._**

He sighed and woke up the two sleeping occupants of his bed: Fleur Delacour and Nymphadora Tonks before running out of the room avoiding the pillows thrown at him with grace that only came from years of avoiding various items being thrown at him, locking himself in the bathroom lest he get mobbed while undressing himself.

Harry chuckled to himself as he heard banging and knew that nothing would come out of opening the door. "Harry! Open this damn door now or so help me Merlin, when I get my wand today I will send so many stinging hexes to your bits you won't be able to feel them for at least a decade!" Tonks growled through the door. Fleur however, just stood back and walked off to prepare for her own shower. Tonks always took too much time trying to get Harry back and it never did work. She knew a lost cause when she saw it, and she _knew_ to stay away from this one.

Stepping into the shower, Harry began to reminisce about how Fleur came to live. _'Wow, it's only been four years since Fleur came that night and stayed. She's far stronger than anything I could ever be. In her case, I'd be locked in the attic sobbing my heart out.'_ He thought morosely, remembering the day as if it was yesterday.

**_-Flashback, (Four Years Ago)-_**

_It was a warm and dimly lit night as the Delacour family had just finished visiting with the Tonks family and Harry. Since Andromeda and Ted had run out of Floo Powder and Apolline and Jean Delacour had forgotten their own powder, the family decided to take the Knight Bus for Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour's entertainment. But, since Gabrielle was only three compared to Fleur's seven, it was more for Fleur but they could always use their family Pensieve that Apolline's grandfather had given her and Jean as a wedding gift and show it to Gabrielle when she was older._

_Since the Tonks family household was held under various wards that made it unplottable, they had to travel out a ways to reach the edge of the wards. They were, of course, accompanied by Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora with Harry for their friend, Fleur but when they reached the edge of the wards something happened. _

_Something dark…_

_Something breaking the very bounds of their very sanity…_

_It was as if a ghost had somehow appeared as they crossed over the wards and ran itself into Jean. A blood-curdling scream, rending the air around them, filling the unused air. _

_He rose up in the air, his face contorted into a painful grimace as if he was trying everything in his iron bound will to resist, only for it to falter when he looked in a direction away from his wife's frantic attempts to get him down. In that single moment of faltering did the _thing _take control. His face became limp and dead, an air surrounded him, but nothing but fear and dread came off of it. But the most disturbing and fearful thing to all around him were his eyes. They were dead, no. They were filled with smoldering rage, just barely hidden and only enough for anyone to see had they studied his eyes. Had they had the chance, but they had not._

_He raised his wand in a quick, lightning fast motion and made a horizontal slashing motion towards Harry, and mumbled an intelligible word to them all. The group watched in slow motion as they curse descended upon Harry, only for Apolline to jump into gear. Her adrenaline pumping, she leapt in front of the curse that was meant to kill Harry and took it for herself. She crumpled to the ground and erupted in a fountain of blood, spurting from a deep and jagged gash ranging from right shoulder to left hip as she hit the ground. She fell to the ground, her face scrunched up in shock and shockingly enough, peace. Fleur was the first to break free of the shock holding them in place and she rushed towards her fallen Maman, begging and pleading for her to be joking around. _

"_Mama_! _Maman,_ _réveille-toi!_ _Arrêtez_ _de plaisanter_! _Ce n'est pas drôle_ _et_ _papa_ _me fait peur_. _(Mama! Mama, wake up! Stop joking around! It isn't funny and Daddy's scaring me!)" Fleur pleaded with her fallen Maman, but to no avail. _

_An idea had struck Fleur at that very moment and brought up a shaking hand, shaking out of new found hope that she was so clinging onto, and brought it up to the side of Apolline's neck to feel a pulse. It was one of the first things her Auntie Andromeda had taught her ever since she had decided she wanted to become a Healer. She always said it was the most important thing to check for a patient's pulse and if there wasn't one… they had moved on to the next life and no amount of magic could save them._

_She brought her hand up and squeezed gently and tried to feel any sort of pulse. After a minute, her hand dropped to her side and she fell down on her Maman's chest, crying. "Mama! Revenez! Ne me laisse pas seul et Gabrielle! (Mama! Come back! Don't leave me and Gabrielle alone!)" Fleur cried out to the heavens. _

_XXX-XXX_

_While she was dealing with her grief, the possessed Jean was now frowning. He meant to hit Harry. It was his orders to kill the little raven haired boy with the lightning bolt scar and yet his wife took the slash of magic for him, effectively ending her life. He shrugged and sent a second curse towards Harry, only for it to be deflected by a rosy golden hue that seemingly enveloped Harry could only be one spell: _Coeli Cohortis (Heaven's Guard)_, one of the strongest and hardest shields to create. His eyes roamed over to find just who cast it and saw it was Andromeda._

_Andromeda kicked into gear and ran over to Apolline to see if she could revive her whereas Ted took up the defense of the group. _

_"GET BACK NOW KIDS!" he roared out to Harry and Nymphadora who quickly backed away and turned to run over to Apolline's fallen body behind the wards where Andromeda had dragged it not moments ago. They quickly backed away and Ted began the fight of his life against one of his closest friends. _

_He crouched down in a pose similar to what his sister-in-law, Bellatrix took when she dueled. The possessed Jean merely raised his wand and began the fight._

_Jean began with a silent spell-chain that all Aurors, regardless of nationality, used for the kill on sight orders instead of the regular disable and capture. Whipping his wand in perfect formation, he sent a powered up Bombarda, followed up by several dark cutters, and a high powered Bone-Breaker. _

_Ted weaved with all the grace of a dueling master that would've made his acquaintance, Filius Flitwick, proud to see. He spun away from the Bombarda, watching the ground become decimated, a good sized crater lay where the spell hit. Jumping up into midair he dodging one of the cutters, followed by Jean throwing himself backwards to avoid having his head cut off and creating a strengthened Protego to take the majority of the Bone-Breaker. It blocked all but the minority of the Bone-Breaker, but enough to clip his left shoulder and dislocate it instead of breaking the bone._

_His eyes alight with fire, Ted began dueling in earnest. He threw three Bone-Breakers, one of which were ducked under, the second rolled away from only for the third to hit Jean's legs. A sickening snap resounded through the open field, but even that did not stop Ted's spell casting. Oh no, he did not stop there. He sent a controlled Skin Melting curse to Jean's wand arm, only to be intercepted by the unused left arm. The nauseating smell of rotting flesh permeated throughout the open field._

_Jean sent a sickly yellow blast of magic that Ted recognized as the Intestine Hurler that he dodged under only to catch a purple bolt on his leg. Within a second Ted fell to the ground, his femur bone burned away leaving nothing but white hot burning ash in his leg that he tried to vanish away, but proved ineffective. _

_Jean got up and began to limp slowly over to Ted before he felt a hole where his chest was at. He looked down, only to find a thin hole, no bigger than the thickness of the tip of a wand, through his chest, puncturing one of his lungs. He turned and saw it was Andromeda whom had cast the Piercing Hex towards him. He saw Fleur glaring at him hatefully beside Andromeda and it made him chuckle darkly. Jean gurgled slightly, feeling blood pool in his mouth and felt yet another disturbance, but this time, at his legs._

_ Hearing the cries of Andromeda and Ted he saw it was Gabrielle begging for him to stop. With his last breath, his drew his wand up and cast a high powered Bombarda and ended Gabrielle's short but promising life. All there had seen what he had done to Gabrielle and it was burned into their memories for the rest of their life. Gabrielle's head had been blown clear off, pieces of skull fragments floated down from the air where they had risen from the explosion, flecked with brain matter. _

_With a disgusting smile on his face, he waved goodbye and was hit with a Gouging Hex and a Cutting Curse to his head by two separate wands. They had been far too late… Far, far too late. _

_Andromeda and Ted looked horrified and saddened at the sight and quickly rounded up the kids before anything else could happen. They disappeared behind the wards, yet if they had remained behind, they would have noticed just who had set the situation off. _

_Albus Perceval Wulfric Brian Dumbledore walked to where Jean's body was at and smiled a cold hard smile. "So my experiment worked…" he said with a slight chuckle, "I can pass off the Imperious curse as if a ghost possessed someone but is too taxing for everyday use. This will definitely bode well for certain plans, but this was a failure in regards to the mission. Now I have to go to the French Ministry and have the Delacour family wiped from existence. With any luck I might just be able to make some money off of this."_

**_-End Flashback_**

Harry sighed. _'They really were like family, just like me being a part of the Tonks family.' _He thought to himself, _'Well, might as well make sure everyone is ready. We've got a long day ahead of us if we're going to Diagon Alley like we planned' _

**_XXX-XXX_**

"Wotcher Harry." Ted greeted with a grin on his face. "How was avoiding Nymphadora's rage this morning?" he asked while the two of them waited by the fireplace for the women of the house to finish getting ready.

Harry smiled thinly. "Surprisingly easy today. I guess even Nym is gonna take it easy with the jokes today." He dryly said, his hair morphing to a dark purple to red causing a somewhat forced laughter from Ted.

"Yea, I guess so. I just hope Fleur isn't taking the day too hard. She was depressed for so long…" he quietly said before adding, "At least you alright and could help her. She wouldn't even talk to anyone but you. She just latched onto you from there, almost fearful that she would lose you too. Hell, she won't even let you go to sleep without her and little Nymphadora just had to join." He said, trying to make a joke at the end and surprisingly passing, albeit barely, but still passing.

"Yeah, but that's in the past. Today's supposed to be a cheerful day and hopefully the day will pass by without too much thought about that day passing Fleur's mind." Harry said, his age seemingly older and much more mature.

Ted shivered at how mature Harry had sounded. _'That day had aged pretty much everyone in the household. Harry took learning magic theory and took to books like a fish in water, Nymphadora took to pranking to keep everyone's mood high and Fleur just stuck to Harry desperately and did everything he did. At least now she can be apart from him for a few hours at a time but any longer and she starts reverting.' _He thought to himself, but was broken out of his train of thought from thinking any farther as the women of the house came into the living room that was furnished oh so nicely.

A sofa sat a comfortable distance away from the fireplace with a rug at the foot of it and two chairs flanking the sofa. The room itself was a crème color and had various books spread around, a bookshelf in one corner, a T.V. in another and various furniture spread around the room.

The women walked in from the kitchen and smiled at the guys in the room.

Fleur smiled thinly and everyone knew what was on her mind, however much she would deny it. Harry walked up and hugged her whispering in her ear, "Today's going to be a fun day, just forget about that if you can Fleur." Tonks, being the overall loveable person she is, walked up and embraced them both in a wide bear hug.

Andromeda and Ted both shared a smile at each other, watching Harry and Nymphadora comfort their long time friend. Andromeda leaned into Ted who just wrapped his arms around her, "I'm glad they're all close to each other. It'd be bad if one hated another or if the feeling was mutual." Andromeda praised.

Ted chuckled. "Alright, let's go have some fun at Diagon Alley and leave these depressing thoughts where they should remain: In the _past!"_

**_Tell me how the chapter was! Did you like the differences compared to the original chapter? I personally was a bit heart touched at Vernon's confession, and was slightly amazed at how the Flashback went by. It was probably a bit over the top but it felt somewhat right and better than just having Fleur picked up from a Slave Ring. *Shudders*_**

**_Tell me how you think the fight went, and here's hopefully a BRIEF explanation about it. The reason why Ted got injured as he did was because he was succumbing to rage rather than thinking logically. So of course you're going to get your ass hurt and he did so big time. After the fight he limped off and Andromeda helped his leg by cooling it down internally, removing the bone ash then regrowing the bone, ligaments and nerves in it._**

**_Tell me how realistic it was, and if you can't review on Ch1 due to already reviewing on the original, just do it on Ch4._**

**_Hope you like it, and enjoy your New Year!_**


	2. Gringotts

**_A/N: Crap, I forgot to explain last chapter just how I'm going to do the Veela growth. _**

**_Okay, so here's the layout for it. When a Veela grows, their feminine wiles don't come into play until they're around 11-13. Until then, they're often mistaken for a regular girl. Once they hit that age, the Allure comes into play, and their bodies start maturing at a faster rate than the other girls their age._**

**_Think of it as a… natural defense mechanism. If the Veela traits come out when they're… say five, there would be kidnappings gone rampant to steal a Veela for themselves. At least at 11-13, they're learning magic and can somewhat defend themselves. Also take into the fact of the guardians and parents also helping the child in learning so that she can better defend herself. _**

**_Just wanted to throw that out there that way you're not wondering about why Fleur isn't attracting nearly all of the male populace around her._**

**_Chapter Two- Diagon Alley_**

"Alright, I'm pretty sure I remember all that a First Year is supposed to get for Hogwarts but let's see this list beforehand." Andromeda stated, holding out her hand for the letter from Hogwarts. Harry suddenly appeared to be very interested in the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley and Tonks seemed to share that fascination. Fleur looked at the pair, sighed and pulled out her Letter and handed it over to Andromeda.

"You two forgot your letters didn't you?" Fleur's quiet voice accused them. Tonks just whistled and attempted to ignore her while Harry fidgeted next to Tonks. "You really shouldn't forget those kinds of things." She sighed out.

"If the tongue lashing is done with for now, let's go get your stuff." Ted looked over his wife's shoulder and checked over the list. "First things first, let's go and hit Gringotts. We can do a magical test while we're there since we were already planning on taking you three before you go off to Hogwarts." Seeing the group all nod their consent, they all traveled down the cobbled -and quite packed- streets if Diagon Alley, taking in the sights along their way to the large marble building known as Gringotts.

Along the way, they saw a woman dance with fire with an odd musical beat that seemingly got faster, but only at a slow and steady pace. At each beat one of her feet stomped the ground, and eventually she was spinning and turning with his feet hitting the ground in tempo with the song, flames dancing around him. The flames themselves seemed alive; they danced along with the woman, they writhed in beat with the stomps and at the climax, they shot up into the air at the final stomp and form into a great fiery dragon that exploded into little sparks, dancing and sparkling along the way to the ground. Everyone who was watching cheered for the woman and even threw some Galleons at her. She bowed and a smile broke her face as she began another round after the crowed shouting for more.

"As much as that was interesting and amazing," Andromeda's voice shocked the group out of the reverie, "Let's go and get our gold and the tests done. Besides Ted, are we going to get them two of _those_? A crafted and a non-crafted?" she asked much to the confusion of the trio.

"Yea, you're right 'Meda." Ted chuckled out, earning a mirthful glare from Andromeda, "And it will be a smart idea to get them a custom one along with a regular one. The crafted one can be used for practicing magic after the school year ends. Plus, it's always good to have two on your person." He added. Fleur, Harry and Tonks all shared a cheer at the fact of them being able to use magic after the school year end, regardless of how it was obtained with a crafted thing. They did have slight thoughts of what the adults were talking about, but they couldn't be sure with all of the various magical items it could refer to, but of course, they assumed it was a wand, but didn't know if one could be customized since they was very few books on wand making and they were all jealously guarded by their owners. Fleur didn't think it was a wand however, as she already had one that worked incredibly well for herself. It was also the only link she had to her deceased mother besides a few scant pictures, Apolline's wand.

"Good, and remember what I said about calling me that in public?" Andromeda asked, appearing to be a queen for all her regal bearing that showed at the moment. Ted couldn't help but burst into laughter at her attempt to look like a stuck up snob.

"You said that there'd be a few very nasty spells flying towards my bits and the worst of all: I'd have to… sleep on the… couch…" he said, trailing off, his voice growing higher, his eyes wider. Now that the table was flipped, Andromeda was the one who couldn't hold in her laughter, and doubled over holding her sides.

"That's right," she said, taking in the sweet relish that she could threaten him so well with so little effort involved. "And don't you forget it."

Ted turned around to Harry and whispered conspiratorially _"Never get tied down with a woman!"_

He slowly turned around and saw three females, all looking frightening. Ted turned to Harry, who backed away slowly with a look on his face that clearly stated, 'You're on your own buddy.'

"Um, mercy?" he squeaked as the women all converged onto the poor man.

**_XXX-XXX_**

The group of five walked -one limping due to a rather strong stinging hex- up to the famous marble building known as Gringotts. They walked up the clear, white steps until they reached the wide, large closed marble doors with two goblins standing guard in front of them.

The goblins themselves did not look like much, but woe beside any foolish soul who would say that in front of them. The race in itself was a short size, no higher than 4' maximum and around 2'8'' for the smallest, but that size rarely even occurred. The Goblins typically had white frizzy hair, or just went without any hair and they had no beards to adorn their faces. They had long ears and noses, similar to the House Elf race, only the noses were pointed and slightly more pronounced, wide eyes that could narrow in a second almost as if glaring at prey from a predator's view point. Add in the fact that Goblins had long spindly fingers with sharpened claws on them and an innate muscular frame that only grew more pronounced as they grew into their 100's, and receded towards the older age of 250 but still leaving them just as strong as a human, if not more so.

The two guards had just simple boiled leather and scarlet and gold plated armor with a halberd for one and a pike for the other, all of course, made from Goblin craftsmen. The pair grinned when Fleur, Harry and Tonks stared at the inscription inlay on the wide doors and read it, almost amazed at how the words flowed seamlessly on the doors.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
'__**Of what awaits the sin of greed  
'**__For those who take, but do not earn,  
'__**Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
'**__So if you seek beneath our floors  
'__**A treasure that was never yours,  
'**__Thief, you have been warned, beware  
'__**Of finding more than treasure there.**_

Ted and Andromeda both nodded respectively to the guards as they opened the doors to reveal a vast marble hall with long counters stretching alongside its length with doors leading off to the vault passageways with around a hundred goblins sitting at them. There was a hustle of goblins moving to and fro with large stacks of paper, or the occasional wizard going into one of the offices on the far side of the room to the right, whereas other seemed to just go straight through great wooden oak doors into a blackened area where the vaults were kept.

The group of two adults and three children walked into the marble hall and went up to one of the shortest lines at the counters. A few minutes passed until the line cleared out leaving them at the front of the line.

"Next." The goblin said in a monotone voice.

"I would like to see my vaults, I have the key," Ted said, pulling out his key from inside his cloak, "And I would also like to have three separate magic tests done for, Fleur Delacour, Nymphadora Tonks and_, " _Ted looked around to make sure no one was listening in. It just wouldn't do if everyone knew Harry Potter was in Gringotts or even in Diagon Alley that day when he used his Metamorph powers to hide himself. "Harry Potter as well."

The Goblin's eyebrow rose for a moment and he let out a barely audible 'Hmm…'

"Very well. Since this visit to Gringotts involves two separate Families that are well known as Goblin Friends, I do believe that the Head Manager himself would like to administer the tests." He chuckled, and managed to make it sound guttural and threatening at the same time. Nymphadora's head cocked back to the side as she heard it as Harry and Fleur took a slight step back from the chuckling goblin. "Go to that desk up front and talk to the Head Manager." He said with a feral grin pointing to the far side of the hall near the vaults, but in an alcove just before the oak doors.

"Yes, what is your business?" The Head Manager half snarled out, looking at the new fools he would have to deal with today.

Little did he know that two of which are from Goblin Friendly families and the other was friendly, but wasn't quite there. It took something akin to saving a Goblin's life to become a Goblin Friend, or becoming respected in their eyes by an impressive victory, won by impossible odds, and one of the most important: Respecting the Goblins.

Suffice to say, not many families wanted to respect the Goblins even though they were the holders of all of their assets in general, and thinking that Goblins were dirty and filthy things not even worthy of scraping the dirt off of their shoes. So naturally, when a family in its entirety respected Goblins, it was rare and welcomed greatly.

"Yes, we're currently in need of three separate Magical Tests, one for Nymphadora Tonks, Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter. But before that, is there any way we can have this chat private against any peeping eyes?" Andromeda curtly asked, somewhat miffed at the Goblin but hiding it well enough. She did however feel have a slight feeling of relish well up inside of her when the Head Manager's face went slack for a moment before becoming as apologetic as a Goblin could get.

Just about everyone except Andromeda looked amazed at the rare look that appeared on the Head Manager's face and catalogued it for future reference or for blackmail even if Harry, Fleur and Tonks didn't realized just how rare it was for a Goblin to be apologetic. But, as quick as the expression hovered over the Goblin, it vanished fast enough to reveal a contemplative look.

"My apologies. I thought you were one of the blundering idiots over there trying to make a complaint at one of my Goblins for no apparent reason." He said with something akin to a silver tongue. "I will of course, be more than willing to administer the Magical Tests myself and free of charge for my slight against two Heirs of Goblin Friend families. Let us adjourn to my office then for peace against any unwanted eyes and ears overhearing us." He jumped down from the counter and walked with a surprising nimbleness. He looked back and motioned with a finger for them to follow. "Follow me, Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, Mr. Potter, Miss Tonks, Miss Delacour."

**_XXX-XXX_**

"Now that we are in my office away from prying eyes and unwanted ears, call me by my name, Bloodrender and please take off any Metamorphmagus powers." The newly dubbed Bloodrender stated as if it were a simple fact that he knew a guarded secret that was just waiting to be burst out when Hogwarts came around. Looking sufficiently shocked, Harry and Tonks both reverted to their original forms.

Harry turned from the short squat 4'5'' with greasy bleached white scraggly hair and overall appearance to look like someone who had just left Azkaban to an entirely different being. He shot up to 4'1'', the bleached hair turned to black that seemed to be windswept. His face grew angular, eyes shortened from tennis ball wide to regular piercing green eyes, body lengthened out significantly with no fat adorning his frame. All in all, he was growing in a handsome young man with the air of confidence he seemed to exclude.

Tonks honestly did not need that much change, only to turn her short pink hair to long, lustrous black hair and for her facial makeup to turn slightly aristocratic, if not regal. She looked like a miniature copy of her mother, with slight difference like her eyes being a warm chocolate brown or a more tanned look like Ted himself always had. Overall, her body lengthened only an inch or so putting her at 4'8'' with a fit body for her age. Taking all into consideration, she would grow into a beautiful woman.

The shock seemed to fade and was replaced by amazement and he wanting to respect the Head Manager in front of him and vice versa. That is, if Fleur didn't try to smack him upside the head first for the possibility of screwing up. He shifted his body to be slightly ahead of both Fleur and Tonks when he saw the Head Manager stare at the pair for a few moments longer than he had at Harry.

"In that case, call me Harry and not Mr. Potter Bloodrender." Harry spoke up, looking into the Head Manager's eyes with no hint of fear, but something he couldn't place… '_Determination? No, maybe something challenging as if I'm going to take one of those two girls away from him.' _Bloodrender thought to himself but was shocked when the rest of the group requested that they be called by their first name except for the youngest Tonks family member. She fearlessly requested that she be called Tonks and nothing more or less.

_'I can see that whelp becoming something interesting in the future.' _

"Very well," he replied to their requests. "Now then," Bloodrender drummed his long spindly fingers together on his desk, "I do believe we have three separate Magical Tests to be done, so come forward little younglings."

Only Tonks was about to yell at him for him calling them younglings but a thought ran by her mind before she could. _'Wait a second… if he's calling us younglings and from what Harry said earlier about Goblins was true, then this Goblin must be easily over 250 years old!' _she thought to herself, shocked at the realization of Bloodrender's age.

Harry, Fleur and Tonks all walked up to the antique desk and they were presented by three separate silver bladed daggers along with an older piece of parchment for each one of them. "Knick yourself one time on any finger and left the blood drop onto the paper. If you're worried about the little cut, it'll seal itself once enough blood has been absorbed into the paper. Because of my slight earlier, I am willing to include any future or current positions as Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House for free." Bloodrender explained, eliciting a smile from Andromeda and Ted.

"Well, might as well get it over with." Tonks said, looking brave as she nicked her finger. She quickly swore about the cold metal, much to the displeasure of her mother. The room quickly filled with the laughter of the occupants, including the soft guttural chuckles from Bloodrender.

Both Harry and Fleur followed suit and eventually the tiny cuts on their finger sealed up. . Blood red writing soon filled the paper and Bloodrender explained about what generally appears on the paper. "The paper shows exactly four things, any magical talents that you have or have the potential to obtain, if you are a Lord or Heir to a house, who your parents are and if they are deceased or still alive and what fields of magic you will have an easier time with learning."

**_Harry James Potter (Half-Blood)_**

**_Age: 11_**

**_-Birthday: July 31_****_st_****_, 1981_**

**_Parents: _**

**_-James Peverell Potter (Deceased), Pureblood _**

**_-Lily Potter nee Evans (Deceased), Muggleborn_**

**_Heir / Lordships:_**

**_-Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter (Last of Line)_**

**_-Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black (Current Lord is Alive)_**

**_Current Magical Talent(s):_**

**_-Metamorphmagus_**

**_-Parseltongue_**

**_ Potential Talent(s):_**

**_-Animagus _**

**_Magical Fields:_**

**_-Defense Against the Dark Arts _**

**_-Charms_**

**_-Transfiguration_**

The group wasn't at all shocked about Harry being a Parseltongue, having stopped a garden snake from biting Tonks when she got a bit too adventurous.

Bloodrender decided to elaborate on the Magical Fields as Ted and Andromeda were throwing him amazed glances. "It is not uncommon for a person to have an easier time with three fields. Typically it's usually one or two, but three is only slightly less common than the norm."

The wedded couple both nodded at the simple explanation and remembered when they had gotten two each.

"Now then, let us go over Fleur's own test paper." Bloodrender all but suggested.

**_Fleur Isabelle Delacour (Half Veela, Half Blood)_**

**_Age: 11_**

**_-Birthday: April 14_****_th_****_, 1981_**

**_Parents:_**

**_-Jean-Jacques Delacour (Deceased), Pureblood_**

**_-Apolline Belle Delacour nee Belgarde (Deceased), Pureblood Veela_**

**_ Heir / Lordship(s):_**

**_-Heir to the Most Noble House of Delacour (Last of Line)_**

**_Current Magical Talent(s):_**

**_-None_**

**_Potential Magical Talent(s):_**

**_-Animagus _**

**_Magical Fields:_**

**_-Potions_**

**_-Ancient Runes_**

**_-Charms_**

**_-Arithmancy_**

"I have always wondered, what separates a House from becoming Noble and Ancient?" Harry wondered aloud, saying the words the Tonks and Fleur were thinking.

"It generally is that Noble comes from the House being able to trace their Lineage back a few generations to check that they were all Pure or Half Bloods. Becoming an Ancient House means that the House has existed for at least two centuries at the minimum and even then, that is considered the low end of Ancient." Bloodrender replied, "Now then, it is Tonks' paper to be read now."

"Saving the best for last!" Tonks joyously exclaimed. Fleur just lightly swatted her shoulder and mock glared at her, getting a tongue in response.

**_Nymphadora Tonks (Half Blood)_**

**_Age: 11_**

**_-Birthday: May 30_****_th_****_, 1981_**

**_Parents:_**

**_-Theodore Tonks (Alive), Muggleborn_**

**_-Andromeda Tonks nee Black (Alive), Pureblood _**

**_Heir / Lordships:_**

**_-Heir to House of Tonks_**

**_-Secondary Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black_**

**_Current Magical Talent(s):_**

**_-Metamorphmagus_**

**_Potential Magical Talent(s):_**

**_-Animagus_**

**_Magical Fields:_**

**_-Defense Against the Dark Arts_**

**_-Transfiguration _**

**_-Potions_**

"What does it mean if I'm a secondary Heir?" Tonks asked Bloodrender.

Bloodrender drummed two of his fingers for a few moments before responding, "It means that you're in line to become to Heir or Lord –Lady in your Case–, so basically if the Heir dies, then you're the Heir to the family."

Silence reigned over the room for a few minutes as they all digested the new information until Fleur had a question that she voiced. "Are Animagi rare in the Wizarding World Bloodrender?" she hesitantly asked.

"They are, but they also aren't." The Head Manager seemed to ponder his next few words before continuing, "The reason there isn't more Animagi in the Wizarding World is not of inability to become one. It is mainly because most of the Wizarding World has either no wish to become an animal, thinks it is a waste of time or is just plain lazy. I can tell you right now, without a doubt that there is more than just the 7 registered Animagi in Great Britain. Why, I can count several right off the bat right now." Bloodrender stated with a feral, pointed grin that made everyone except Tonks –once again– shudder.

"Why does the paper say that I'm the Heir and not the Lord of the Potter House since I'm the last of the line?" Harry asked, with none of the arrogance that Bloodrender had been expecting.

_'A typical Potter. Always somewhat humble.' _Bloodrender thought with an inward smirk.

"That is a somewhat easier question to answer and I'm glad you wanted to know." Bloodrender smirked showing his pointed feral teeth once again, "In regular situations, an Heir ascends to becoming the Lord of his House by way of two things: The previous Lord dying, and the Heir becoming of age. Until the Heir ascends to becoming the Lord of the House, the other guardian becomes the… proxy or substitute until they become of age. In your case, the last Lord was James Peverell Potter but he was met with an untimely demise as was your mother. So, you are required to name a proxy to step in for your duties until you are of age, or when your proxy deems you fit to lead. Until that time, you are the Heir until the magical age of 17 or younger.

"There are situations where the Lord of the House can stay Lord when their child becomes of age and is used quite often if the Lord is power hungry or the Heir is deemed unfit. And there are only two solutions to that one is death, or being cast out of the family." Bloodrender finished, and took relish in the fact that he had explained it well enough that three younglings had understood, albeit frightened shitless, but understood perfectly.

_'Still haven't lost my touch.'_ He thought with a vicious smile as he took in the slight smell of fear. "Is there any other questions from young younglings or from you, Andromeda and Theodore?"

"Is there any way I can get something like a statement about what my vault holds exactly? I've always wondered just how much there is in there." Harry thought aloud.

"Probably because you just want to spoil Fleur and Tonks with gifts like you always do when you get any money." Ted teased the embarrassed Harry.

"At least he gives gifts to his two friends unlike a certain husband." Andromeda piped in.

"Burned Dad. Just plain burned." Tonks added.

Bloodrender looked at the scene and asked Fleur, "Does this happen often?"

"Far too often in my opinion." Fleur said, laughing.

"Fair enough. Now then," Bloodrender turned his attention back to the family and blinked, "Okay Andromeda, let go of your husband or he might not be able to move for the rest of the day." He chuckled, "To answer your question Harry, yes there is. We just call it a ledger and it essentially tells what transactions have occurred in the past twenty years, what's currently in the vault, the interest on it and any vaults attached to the main one. I can have a goblin look over it and have it sent to you while you're at Hogwarts and a copy sent to your caretakers, Ted and Andromeda.

"Now then, any other questions?"

"Well," Ted started and the room's attention turned onto him, "I was wondering about the bottomless Gringotts money bags. It's been a rumor running around in the Department of Magical Law and Enforcement. How much do they cost and does it take the money directly from the vault?" he asked, eager for the opportunity to not have to go underground to his family's vault ever again.

"Ah yes, those bags. It's made life much easier on my goblins and also harder but that's a story for another time if you'd like.

"I'm willing to make a proposition to you Theodore. The bags you are talking about do indeed take money directly from your vault and the best part about them is that only the people its attuned to can open it along with various charms and protections put upon the bag if asked for. If you would take three such bags, one for the Tonks, Delacour and Potter families for free it would be greatly appreciated if any questions you have about them were forwarded towards us." Bloodrender offered with a wink and pointed smirk at the dumbstruck look on Ted and Andromeda's face.

Andromeda channeled her inner Slytherin and asked, "How much would they cost including the protective charms and enchantments excluding the attunement charm if the question was asked to us Bloodrender?"

Bloodrender drummed his fingers and answered, "Very astute question Andromeda. For the bag itself without any of the charms except the attunement charm on it, 50 galleons. With the extra protections and enchants upon it, 200 galleons with the guarantee that it will last at least 250 years compared to the 100 years without the extra enchantments, charms and protections on it. The protections on it include, Anti-Theft, Anti-Summoning, a Portkey that only a family member can use to escape to their vault, an Disillusionment charm that's been modified to make it appear invisible to all except the people that are allowed to access the bag, Growth and Shrinking charms and one of my personal favorites, a new type of charm that Goblins invented recently, a Finger Shredder that will literally leave fingers shredded into pieces should unwanted pickpockets try to open your bag. There would be no need for bringing it in for any repairs as well.

"Does that satisfy your question Andromeda?"He asked, watching as Ted's mouth floundered open and close as he saw the incredible deal.

"Yes, very much so Bloodrender and we thank you greatly for the offer." Andromeda stated with a grin to match the Head Manager.

Bloodrender inclined his head. "Very well. It is of no consequence, and it is worth it to ensure your three families stay with Gringotts." He stated as he stood up and walked outside of his office and barked in his native tongue, **_"Shredjaw, it isn't your break! Get off your lazy ass and get me three of the packaged money bags fixed to the Potter, Delacour and Tonks families." _**The goblin in question, Shredjaw, immediately got off the bench he was sitting on with widened eyes and immediately rushed to get the three bags.

The Head Manager turned around, half expecting scared looks to the guttural barks, snarls and clicks that his native tongue provided but was once again, shocked and pleasantly pleased by their looks of amazement. Bloodrender barked out a laugh and went to sit back down in his chair behind the desk only for the oak door to open once more to show a goblin, Shredjaw, huffing and puffing through his various nose and lips piercings. He presented the bags to his boss and immediately retreated out of the office.

Bloodrender then proceeded to show them how the bags worked and how to attune someone to the bag before they had to leave to finish their shopping trip for Hogwarts.

"If you have any questions, just come back and ask for me." Bloodrender said, smirking at them as they walked out.

**_XXX-XXX_**

"What's next on the list mum?" Tonks enthusiastically asked as the group exited Gringotts, armed with significant knowledge.

Andromeda did a slight hum, and looked over Fleur's letter. "How about I take you three over to Madam Malkin's for your Hogwarts robes while my loving hus-"Ted's wand buzzed momentarily, interrupting Andromeda. He took out his wand to find out what was going on and cursed.

"Crap no time 'Meda. I just got a call in to go and help apprehend of the largest illegal transporting rings. I can't stay, sorry! I'll try to make it home as soon as I can." He promised before Apparating to the Ministry.

"Will dad be okay mum?" Tonks asked in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

The older witch put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I hope so." She sighed.

"'Course he'll be fine Nym! He's amazing at defense and he's up for nomination to become an Auror which almost never happens for a Hit Wizard." Harry said with a fire in his eyes, lightening the mood up greatly.

Fleur nodded her agreement and added, "That and he _is_ the best Hit Wizard in the Department."

"Now then, we might as well get the shopping done then get home and pack up for Hogwarts."

**_XXX-XXX_**

"So now we're getting our wands then seeing about getting an owl, cat or toad?" Harry asked once they walked out of Flourish and Blott's with all of the first year curriculum books including an extra book or two about Animagus transformations and on Transfiguration to help with becoming an Animagus.

"Of course. Oh, and Fleur," Andromeda said getting the quiet girl's attention, "Cheer up, there might be something in Olivander's that can be beneficial for you as well." She winked at the cheerier Veela.

They strolled into Olivander's and stared at the numerous shelves upon shelves of boxed wands. While they were gazing at the various wands, Andromeda spied the room for the wizened old man, Olivander. She finally spotted him gazing at the three kids with a warm smile and when he looked up he gave her a warm grandfatherly smile and a welcoming nod. He put a finger to his mouth and she caught what he was going to do.

"Hello!" Olivander's cheerful voice came out of nowhere. An older man walked up behind the three children and coughed to hide a laugh. The way they reacted was perfect and Andromeda had no compunction against laughing at their reaction.

"Andromeda… Tonks now is it?" he asked.

"Yeah, we married about two years after Hogwarts." Andromeda replied.

"I presume that you want to get them a wand and a custom crafted wand like you and Theodore Tonks?" Olivander smiled.

"Of course." Andromeda leaned in and the next words that passed from her lips were not heard. _"Fleur already has a Veela wand, and it's the only thing left of her mother, Apolline. Try to be courteous about it; she's very attached to that wand if you please. She just needs a custom crafted wand." _

Olivander mulled over her words and nodded. _"Of course." _

_"Thank you." _She pulled back and smiled at the trio of preteens.

"So, I think that ladies should go first, don't you think Miss Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" Tonks headedly said, her hair color morphing to orange then red.

"Okay then little one. Will Tonks be acceptable then?" Tonks nodded and he produced a tape measurer out from the interior of his robes. "What hand do you use the most?"

"My right Olivander."

He began measuring her arm and hurried over to his desk, just to the right of the entrance and mumbled out a few things. "Yes… 9 ½ in. will work… that one?" Her snapped to attention and over to the third bookshelf and took a box off of the top shelf. "Try this one. 9 ½ in, Birch and Norwegian Ridgeback Heartstring core."

Nymphadora flicked the deep brown colored wand and red-gold sparks flew out of the tip of the wand. "Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous!" Olivander crowed, "Now then, I do believe you already have a wand Miss Delacour?" He had remembered when Tonks had snapped at him, and he didn't want another girl, no matter the age, angry at him.

"Yes, my maman's." She said with no little bit of pride staining her voice.

"Very well then. I do believe that you'll be getting a wand regardless, though it might take a bit to get it done." Olivander jovially said. "Mr. Potter, I do believe it is your turn then. Which hand do you use the most?"

"My right sir." Harry replied.

He began the same process he did with Tonks and walked over to his desk. "11 in. … No… Peculiar…" Olivander rose to the middle bookshelf and gingerly took out a wand box that was dustier than the rest. "Yes, try this wand Mr. Potter. I do believe that you are the user of this wand, 11in. Holly and a Phoenix Tail Feather for a core. Swish it!"

Harry complied and felt a warm breeze flow past him and golden sparks speckled with the same shade of green his eyes were in them.

"I presume that you already know of You-Know-Who, but this is curious. The wand you are currently holding had a brother wand, connected by the phoenix feather from the same phoenix, which gave you that terrible scar." Olivander's voice grew low when he explained, "And I expect you to do many great things with that wand Mr. Potter, but enough of that. I think that you all are anxiously awaiting your second wand, and this one will be slightly more fitted towards your needs but it will take a bit for it to be made..." His eyes flitted around and his voice lowered conspiratorially, "_Between you three and me, the ministry can't trace wands that aren't made by them. See, they always mass produce their wands and put tracers on them, and I always get the best batch of those wands. So, that means you three can use the wands I'm going to make for you three without worrying about the Decree for Underage Magic._" He winked at their surprised and extremely happy faces.

"Now then, follow me to the back of shop!" he exclaimed, flipping the sign over the shop to **Closed for Lunch Break, Back in Twenty Minutes**.

**_XXX-XXX_**

With a flick of a wand, various objects flew from the shelves in the back storeroom. Blocks of wood went on one table that looked to be around 10' long. Another table became the holder of various items, generally heartstrings of the rarer kind in framed cases, liquid essences and venom from numerous creatures in jars.

"Now then, what I want you three to do is going to be a three stage process and I will do the rest. But what I want to ensure right now: Do NOT touch something unless I say to and follow my directions by the letter or else you can cause irreparable harm to these rare ingredients and to possibly yourselves in the process. Understood?" Olivander said in a serious tone that brokered no argument over the terms he set.

"Understood." Harry replied.

"Ya got it boss!" Tonks cheekily stated.

"Understandable." Fleur nodded.

Olivander smiled, glad that they understood or at least would follow his directions. "Now then, for crafting a customized wand the items that make up the wand need to resonate or rather match with the Witch or Wizard. At that, come with me to the wood and… Bugger me, where did I put that potion…?" he patted down his robs until he finally felt the crystal vials. "Ah hah! There they are. Now I want you three to drink this potion entirely, try not to leave a single drop."

The wizened old man began explaining what the potion's affects were as they downed them. "Now, what these potions are going to do is that they're going to increase your ability to resonate with an object that calls out to you, kind of like increasing your ability to feel magic. It just amplifies that feeling and focuses on things that call out to you.

"Now then, what I want you to do is just move your hands over the wood slowly but not touch it. Tell me which ones you get a call or feeling to when you're all done." He briskly said.

For Harry, the experience was overall very odd. He slowly walked with his hand close to the wood and had yet to feel a 'resonance' or call to any of the blocks of wood. As he walked towards the end, a block of blackened wood seemed to call out to him. He determined that the way he felt when he moved his hand over it was some type of strong emotion, not negative emotions but something along the lines of the feeling of possessiveness and protection seemed to emanate from it.

Tonks had the easiest time and immediately felt a pull towards a deep cherry color block of wood. For her, it felt like nothing she had ever experienced in her life. She felt a feeling well up inside of her that she could only sum up into two separate feeling and what she felt about it: The feeling of bravery, and the willingness behind it that she would do whatever it took to save her friends. Whether it be jumping in front of an Unforgiveable or taking on a monster, she would do it for them. She also felt an innate need to hide what she did, almost in an under the table manner and be _cunning _about important deals and parts of her life. Tonks passed over the wood after taking a moment to remember the feelings that it had gave her. No other block of wood gave her anything close to what she felt with that deep cherry looking wood.

Fleur's was by far the oddest for her to rationalize compared to Tonks and Harry's. When she was moving her hand over the top of the blocks, she felt nothing. Towards the end was when she got her resonance and by Merlin, it was the weirdest thing for her. The block she stopped momentarily looked to be white, with a blue hue around the wood. It was as if she were stuck behind two feelings: the feelings she felt for Harry only magnified many times over in a way her Veela heritage could never match. It was as if nothing in the world mattered except staying with him and never leaving him, no matter what it took she would never leave. She also felt an odd need for… _something_. She just couldn't place it however. The best she got towards it was the need to stay clean for only one person, and one alone. Fleur just couldn't tell how to interpret the feeling and continued walking forward, at least somewhat happy that she felt a resonance to a block of wood.

As the three finished, Olivander looked almost ecstatic and quickly cut to the chase. "Which of the blocks of wood did you three feel a sort of resonance or call to and what did you feel from that resonance?"

Fleur decided to answer first. "That one," pointing to the pure white block of wood, "I felt feelings for Harry magnify many times over, far beyond what my Veela heritage could come up to and I also felt the need to be… _clean?_ I'm not sure how I'm supposed to interpret that but I felt the need to be clean for one person and one alone." Olivander looked pensive for a moment then smiled.

"Ah, that is why. That block of wood is known as Blue Mahoe from the Caribbean Islands. It's well known for the strong feelings behind it: _Purity_ and _Love_." He said, winking at Fleur. "Now then Miss Tonks, what block did you resonate with?" Olivander turned his attention to the female Metamorphmagus.

Tonks pointed towards her own block of wood. "I felt the need for Bravery, and the willingness to put myself in harm's way to save my friends. I also felt a need to be cunning for important details and facts of my life."

The old wand crafter recognized it immediately. "_That_ wood!" His eyes twinkled, "That wood is known as Bloodwood from Brazil. Its main properties are exactly how you describe it: _Bravery _and _Cunning_. Those are definitely your inner traits from your parents no doubt." He happily said. "Now then Mr. Potter. What about you?"

"That blackened wood that looked almost charred with brown streaks through it. I felt the strongest urge to protect those that are precious to me, including _pack_ – err, family. Don't know where that one came from." Olivander's eyes widened for a moment before going back to normal with a fire in his eyes. "I also felt possessive over those precious to me."

"Well then, I do believe that crafting your wand will be just as fun as your friends." Olivander stated, "Now that wood is Macassar Ebony, native to the Philippines and well known for being used in potions for _Possessiveness _and the need to _Protect _those you are particularly close to. Most particularly towards Loyalty potions in fact." He said with a smirk, flicking his own wand to clear out all but those three blocks of wood leaving the table all but bare.

"Now that we have the wood, we have to pick out the cores. You may very well resonant with only one or even two, but we can only put one in the wand or else it can very well explode when you first use it."

They had to do the same process as they did for choosing the block of wood for their core and it was much clearer this go around now that they had a clear idea of what their wood signified.

For Tonks, she had to clear nearly all of the cores until she finally felt the call towards one. It was in a murky jar that seemed to have a dark liquid in it…

Fleur only had to cross two of the cores until she reached a jar with a silvery liquid in it that resonated with her, matching the feelings she felt with the Blue Mahoe wood only now it seemed to encompass Harry and Tonks…

Harry himself was slightly harder to match and took longer to find the core he was supposed to resonant with. Towards the very end of the table he finally felt the call towards a mysterious substance he took a closer look at. It appeared to be a heartstring that was purely red and it seemed to have a liquid running up and down its length…

The trio all stood in front of the table once they were done. "Same process as before young ones." Olivander repeated with a smile.

The raven haired boy pointed to the framed strand that he felt a strong resonance with. "Ahh yes, that one was a nasty one and very aptly covering for your traits if I do say so myself Mr. Potter. It's the heartstring to a Hungarian Horntail dipped in the very same dragon's blood, all willingly as well. Those Horntails really are possessive and protective to say the least…" he mumbled the last part making the group wonder just what exactly he was remembering and just what he tried or saw being taken from a Horntail.

The one Fleur felt in the jar she pointed out and the additional feeling of Tonks including Harry and Olivander nearly clapped with joy.

"Very impressive Miss Delacour. You managed to resonate the jar with the blood of a willing Unicorn and from what you say; it seems that you have quite the feelings, including the ability to make me have a challenge crafting your wand because blood is one of the more temperamental cores to work with but one of the strongest. " He smiled at the prospect of making such a wand.

"Saving the best for last I see Olivander," Tonks preened earning exasperated looks from both Fleur and Harry. "That murky jar right there with the dark liquid in it is the one I was called to."

"Interesting… I had nearly forgotten about this specific jar. This is the blood of a Swedish Shortsnout brood mother. The Swedish Shortsnout itself is more of a cunning dragon with the bravery to stand up to greater foes for the others of the brood to arrive or for the others to escape." Olivander explained before clapping once with his hands. "Now then, I will be able to have your wands crafted and ready to use by Christmas. Now, that seems like a long time but I'm sure you wouldn't like them to explode in your face like how other practitioners of wands do." He said with an eerie smile. "Would you like to prepay for them along with your other wands? That way I can just mail them directly to you without having to come in and worry about it just sitting around."

"That sounds like a good idea Garrick." Andromeda said, appearing out of nowhere to just behind the three children, making them jump.

"Very well, follow me back to the front of the shop." Olivander motioned for them to follow. "The charge for the crafted wands for each one will be 25 Galleons, and the two already crafted wands will be 10 Galleons each. The total will be… 95 Galleons Andromeda."

Andromeda nodded gratefully at the price. "Thank you for the good deal Garrick. Can you send the wands during the Christmas Break to the Tonks home?" she asked, passing the necessary gold from the money pouch she had gotten from Bloodrender.

"Of course Andromeda, you can count on it. Now then, off with you and get ready for Hogwarts Mr. Potter, Miss Tonks and Miss Delacour." Olivander kindly dismissed them and waved their goodbyes.

Olivander walked into the back of the store and began tinkering with the wood to begin the crafting of the wand before a thought hit. '_Harry is going to have one hell of a future if those wand traits are anything to go by... I almost feel sorry for the men who would try to take those two.'_ He thought with a smile.

**_So, how'd you like the chapter? Hope you liked the fact that I just simplified it, so no more wood elf, Le Fey Peverell Harry! =D_**

**_I know that when authors usually have wands crafted they give incredibly rare and multiple cores with wood from the world tree and the like, so I just settled for the more exotic woods around the real world and cores that are slightly more extreme but not over the top hopefully. That and I always wondered just how in the hell the wand crafters make the incredibly rare wands in less than twelve hours. It seems way more realistic that it would take a while for it to craft, getting everything to work and not just… well… fuck up haha._**

**_Another thing that I've always wondered: How come the Dragon Heartstring is never described, like what kind of dragon is was obtained from? So in regards to that I specified haha. _**

**_Oh and with the hints I laid out in the chapter, look over them getting the wood for their wands again and try to guess what their Animagus forms are. The people who manage to guess it will get mention in the chapter where their forms will showcase themselves. That and I hope you like my description of Animagus. I always thought that it was a talent anyone could have, like for instance Peter Pettigrew. If that slimy rat could become one, why couldn't others? Hence the idea that most if not all witches and wizards could become one, but only with dedication towards it._**

**_A hint for Nymphadora's thought since that will be the hardest, think bushy tailed and four feet… _**

**_Have a good one and I hope you can continue reading the story!_**


	3. Arrival at Hogwarts

**_The beginning of this chapter was kind of iffy for me, but it isn't long and not too important so I hope you'll excuse it. _**

**_Chapter Three-_**

"Harrrryyyy!" a feminine voice pouted at the sleeping form of Harry. "Wake uuupppp!" Tonks pouted once again, but to no avail.

"Nym, it won't work. Try pushing him off of the bed." The other female in the room, Fleur, quietly supplied helpfully. Tonks took the suggestion to heart and unceremoniously shoved the sleeping boy off of the bed and onto the cold hardwood floor.

Suffice to say, he got up quickly.

"What the bloody hell was that for?!" Harry grumbled irritably, glaring at Tonks who was suspiciously trying to look innocent. She couldn't take it anymore and doubled over in laughter. A few seconds passed and Fleur's tinkling laughter filled the room as well.

Fleur managed to calm down and explain to Harry. "We have to be at the Hogwarts Express by 11:00, and it's 10:31."

Harry swore loudly before running into the bathroom to quickly get ready.

While Harry was busy getting ready, Tonks finally recovered from her laughing spree and looked up at Fleur with mirth dancing through the young Metamorphmagus' eyes. "You really got him good Fleur. It's only 9:09 huh?" she asked with amusement filling her words. Fleur only nodded and proceeded to get ready for their trip to the Hogwarts Express.

**_XXX-XXX_**

**_September 1_****_st_****_, 1991_**

The Tonks family plus two all gathered in the large living room by the fireplace with Harry disgruntled. "You didn't have to lie about the time…" he grumbled making Tonks smile like the Cheshire Cat, and Fleur to lightly smile at him. Hedwig the snowy owl just hooted and seemingly mock-glared at Fleur before flying to Harry's shoulder.

_'That damn owl has gotten Harry wrapped around her damn wing and the other way around too damn it.' _Tonks thought to herself.

"Alright, let's hurry up and get to the Express already. We're nearly late as it is because Ted here," Andromeda's eyes narrowed dangerously and the man in question fidgeted uncomfortably, "Decided to sleep late and nearly miss your guys' departure to Hogwarts."

"Alright!" Ted exclaimed, trying to avoid the storm that was ready to burst at him, "Let's go then and hurry up. It's 10:54 and the train leaves at 11:00 so when we cross through immediately say your goodbyes and book it to the train." Andromeda pondered his suggestion for a brief moment before nodded her agreement of the plan.

"You three first, hurry." Andromeda stated.

"Platform 9 ¾." Fleur said and erupted into green flame from the fireplace. When the brilliant green flames died down, Fleur was gone and already at Platform 9 ¾.

Following Fleur, the rest of the family soon appeared in one of the fireplaces in the large train station hall that held the Hogwarts Express.

"Alright then, have a good time at Hogwarts you three and try to keep the Metamorphmagus pranks on a down low." Ted cheerfully stated. Andromeda's eye twitched slightly.

"What do you mean, Metamorphmagus pranks? Did you give Harry and Nymphadora the anatomy book…?" She piercingly stared at Ted who looked guilty as can be, "You did damn you!"

"Uh, bye kids! Have a good one until Christmas." The man hurriedly said trying to get the heat off of him.

It thankfully distracted the storm for the moment. "Ohhhh, goodbye and have a good trip." Andromeda said with a motherly smile and a kiss on the head to each of the kids."Do try and keep Hogwarts still standing by the time you come back." She smiled at the duo. "Keep them in line Fleur dear will you?"

"Of course auntie." Fleur replied.

The train's shrill whistle began whistling out smoke. "Quickly, get onto the train!" The married couple watched Harry, Fleur and Tonks all run into the train just as it was pulling out. Andromeda turned to her husband, "Now then…

"The couch in the living room is yours to sleep on for the next week for giving them that damn book." Andromeda said, taking pride in her ability to make Ted quiver in anguish.

"But but-"

"But nothing. We both agreed that if you did something that could potentially harm one of our family; there would be consequences, same for me. You just broke that first."

If anyone watched the pair walk back off to the fireplaces, they would've saw Ted with an utter look of despair on his face and a look of disapproval on Andromeda's.

**_XXX-XXX_**

The trio walked into the train just as it set off to its destination and thankfully enough, weren't accosted by nearly every student that was and still are going to Hogwarts thanks to Harry's ability to hide his appearance.

"Hey Fleur, Nym, there's an open compartment here. C'mon lets snag it before anyone else can." Harry pointed out to an empty compartment. Tonks immediately rushed to get inside the compartment while Fleur and Harry leisurely walked in, pulling out their shrunken trunks and enlarged them to put onto the top racks.

Tonks' face scrunched up for a moment, "How are there so many compartments in such a smallish train? I mean the muggle trains we went on were WAYY longer and could way less people."

Fleur laughed, "Nymphadora, its magic."

Tonks blushed in return, "I normally would've yelled and beat the crap out of anyone who said my name, but you're lucky that I let you use it."

"Nym," Harry peered at Tonks with a grin, "You know you love it when we actually say your first name."

The (now) red haired Metamorphmagus was just about to send a retort when the train compartment door opened up to reveal a red haired, freckled boy with a red long sleeve and pants. "Do you know where Harry Potter is?" he asked after determining that Harry wasn't in the compartment of course.

"Not sure." Harry replied, inwardly grinning.

"Ah, okay. Thanks." He said, taking a glance at Fleur and Tonks before leaving. Fleur burst into quiet giggles while Tonks stared at Harry with a grin worthy of a Cheshire Cat.

"That's one prank so far Harry." Tonks high-fived Harry.

"I wonder if anyone else will try to enter the compartment…" Harry wondered aloud, and lo and behold, his wish was granted. The door slid open to reveal a pretty blonde witch with a brunette witch right beside her.

"Mind if we sit here?" the brunette asked in a bubbly tone. Fleur, Tonks and Harry all nodded their consent.

The blonde witch finally spoke up after taking a seat, "Thank you, my name is Daphne Greengrass." She said in a slightly cold tone.

"Excuse Daphne, she's always cold to everyone." The brunette said, "The name's Tracy Davis and thanks for letting us stay in here. Draco Malfoy and his two loyal buffoons wanted us to sit with them so we decided to sit somewhere away from them." The newly dubbed 'Tracy' peered at the trio. "What're your names?"

"Fleur Delacour, nice to meet you." Fleur held her hand out with a smile tugging on her lips.

Tonks grinned, "Call me Tonks."

Everyone in the compartment turned their attention to Harry who was looking outside the window. He finally noticed the attention via Tonks elbowing him, and looked at them, "What Nym? Oh, my name… Just call me Harry." He said with a smile.

Tracey just passed off him only saying his first name as something normal for him but Daphne knew there was something up with him just saying his first name, almost as if he didn't want anyone to know his full name. _'I'll find out I guess during the sorting ceremony.'_

"So I guess you two are first years like us three?" Harry asked.

Tracy nodded, "I guess so. Hey, do you know any magic yet?"

The trio laughed at Tracy's question. "Definitely. We would constantly practice once our magical cores got strong enough for the first year spells. So far, we've only gotten to about… maybe towards the end of the first year for spells. Harry knows all of the theory for the first and second years the damn bookworm." Tonks said, pointing at said bookworm and grinning.

Tracy stood there with her jaw hanging and even Daphne was decently impressed at the fact they were already decently ahead of the game, "Impressive. I've only gotten to maybe the middle of the first year and the theory behind first year memorized."

"That's good. We didn't really expect anyone else to know the first year spells." Fleur said.

Tonks jumped up and her hair went a bright yellow and joyously exclaimed, "I know! Let's all train together and learn new spells!"

Tracy was shocked –once again– at the fact that these three people who hardly knew them would be willing to help. However, Daphne's eyes narrowed and she cautiously appraised them. _'What would they possibly gain from this that they'd be willing to possibly help someone they don't even know? That and the fact that this girl is probably a Metamorphmagus. Maybe they can help…'_

"You know, that's a good idea Tonks." Harry said after Tonks calmed down slightly, "It would be fun and all to help each other if you two would be willing to join us?" he asked, looking at the pair of girls.

Tracy nodded, still dumbstruck before smiling widely. New friends are always a good thing for Tracy.

_'Crap, all the attention's on me now… Well, if Tracy's going to do it then I might as well go. Besides,'_ she thought, taking a glance at each of the three and noticing the pleading gaze that Tracy had leveled onto her, _'They don't seem like the people to just string you up and leave you there to hang.' _"Alright, why not. If anything, I'll be able to learn some new spells."

"What if we're in different Houses and when will we train? On the weekends or when?" Fleur asked, pointing out the important questions to make the training plan actually work.

"If we're in different Houses then how about we study theory that we can understand the spells properly after classes for maybe 30 minutes to an hour and a half and use the theory to actually apply it to the spells on the weekends for an hour that way we don't magically exhaust ourselves." Daphne suggested, "If we're in the same House then… just study theory a bit less and we'll practice magic a bit more. As for training spot… maybe an abandoned classroom? There's bound to be loads of them in a school as big as Hogwarts."

The group mulled over the idea and found it to their liking.

"Sounds good to me." Harry said.

"It works for me so I don't mind." Fleur replied.

"I could deal with less theory since that goes better to bookworms like Harry here but it sounds like a good plan." Tonks said, ignoring the glare Harry leveled towards here.

"I'm just tagging along for the ride and sticking with it so I don't care what the plans are." Tracy grinned.

"I have a feeling this will be an interesting friendship." Tonks said in a fake, pompous tone that made everyone laugh and make Daphne crack a small smile.

_'This might not be too bad at Hogwarts.' _Daphne thought, watching Harry and Tonks mess around with each other and Tracy join in.

**_XXX-XXX_**

**"Fifteen minutes until arrival. Please dress in your robes and be ready to go to Hogwarts. Leave all luggage here as it will be taken care of. Have a good year!"** came the disembodied voice of the train conductor to warn the students.

Tonks jumped at the voice, inducing another heartfelt laugh from the group. "Oh shut up!" she irritably grumbled.

"I say we all get changed now that way we won't have to worry about it last minute." Harry offered.

Fleur shook her head and sighed, "It IS last minute. Or as close as it's going to get anyways. Well regardless, I'm changing now."

"O-Oi! What the bloody hell are you doing?" Tracy shouted.

Fleur's facial expression turned into one of confusion as she began to start changing, "Changing why?"

"There's a damn boy in here!"

"So?" Fleur shrugged, "Nym, Harry and I have all lived together for the past few years. There really isn't anything wrong with us changing as long as there aren't any private parts out and showing."

The brunette's jaw dropped before turning to Harry, "I'll be changing somewhere else. I'll be back, you coming Daph?"

"Yeah, one second Tracy, let me just get my robes out of my trunk."

The trio watched as Daphne and Tracy walked out of the room and continued changing, shrugging the whole time. It's not like there was anything wrong with what they were doing, right?

**_XXX-XXX_**

**_Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office_**

In the Headmaster's Office of Hogwarts, one could always expect odd and wondrous things in it and Albus Dumbledore's office was no exception to that expectation. There was various silver spinning objects, priceless books and irreplaceable portraits of the previous headmasters of Hogwarts.

But all that didn't matter to the current headmaster of Hogwarts as he was currently sitting at his beautiful antique wood desk pondering over the enigma that was Harry James Potter.

_'Young Harry isn't quite as malleable as I would have liked but he did spend most of his life living with the Tonks family. It is rather unfortunate that I haven't been able to access the Potter Family Vault as the Guardian of Harry to pay for the costs of running the Order, but then again Goblins are notorious for using underhanded methods for their best customers and the Potter family is no exception to that exclusive list. If it wasn't for Mr. William Weasley I wouldn't have been able to cover my tracks nearly half as well from taking some of the gold from his Trust Vault.'_

He reached out and grabbed a Lemon flavored sweet and offered one to the red and golden majestic bird – or rather Phoenix – and watched how the phoenix shook its head. Those things were WAY too sour and sweet to be anything but an abomination.

Albus chuckled before regaining his thoughts. _'So I know he has two really close friends and I need to get little Harry under my control or all of my work will go to waste.'_ Albus pondered his conundrum before a 'light bulb' went off in his head. '_Yes, that seems like a good idea to do and using the Philosopher's Stone as a test might just work well in my favor to use them and control them. At worst, I can always play the diplomatic card with France and threaten to take Fleur away.' _His train of thought was once again broken, this time involuntarily by someone approaching the door.

"Come in Severus." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly tone. Severus Snape, Potions Master and Potions Professor of Hogwarts strode into the room with his long black cape billowing behind him. "What can I do for you Severus?"

"You can drop the Grandfather Tone with me. We both already know that no one is listening in to us." Severus hissed out in his usual way of speaking: low and deadly like how Voldemort used to speak.

He watched at Dumbledore sat straight up, hard and rigid, and his eyes lost any sense of warmth, instead becoming something colder than a raging blizzard.

"Very well Severus." The aged old man spoke with a hard, indifferent tone. "Is it any news about -?"

"Yes, he's coming to Hogwarts under the guise as a teacher for the Stone." Severus' beady black eyes seemed to harden imperceptibly. "He has the chance to come back. What's the plan Albus?"

"We cannot allow him to rise this year. We need Potter severely under our control for now. There are other ways for him to come back and we can always use the Stone once we retrieve it from Potter at the end of the year once he gets it." Dumbledore said in his new cold, hard tone. His eyes seemed to twinkle for a moment and Severus felt a probe hit his mind before retreating. "Good. You're keeping the shields up. We cannot afford for anyone to know of our plans. I need to prepare the third floor corridor before the students arrive." The dismissal could never be clearer in his voice and Severus didn't hesitate in going away from the office.

_'I must warn Harry at all costs. Dumbledore has become mad and will do anything to control Harry for his own gains, especially to reunite with __**Him**__. Thank Merlin I had at least taught him, Fleur and little Tonks some Occlumency or it'd be impossible otherwise to warn him.'_

**_XXX-XXX_**

**_Hogsmeade Train Station_**

**_September 1_****_st_****_, 1991_**

After the train stopped, all the students began trailing out of the train from the numerous exits. The first years began to nervously fidget as all the older students were going to carriages before a bulky man called out to them.

"Firs' Years to me! Firs' Years!" a rather tall man, that could very well be considered part giant with his bulk and size, happily rumbled out.

"Oh, 'ello Harry!" the giant of a man said to Harry who grinned in return to the ever cheerful giant.

"How's it going Hagrid?"

"Not bad at all! C'mon firs' years, 'ollow me." The group of nervous and edgy first years all followed Hagrid down to the lake from the narrow path they were on from exiting the train. When Harry, Tonks, Fleur, Daphne and Tracy cleared past the path, a huge lake was in view with a magnificent castle that glistened off of the Lake for all of them to see as they walked down to the bank to the boats.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called out to the first years. Tonks, Harry and Fleur all frowned at that.

Daphne however, just waved it off as nothing, "We'll," she points to herself and Tracy, "Meet up with you after we get inside the castle." The trio all nodded and smiled at the blonde gratefully and loaded up onto the boat with an extra person; a brunette with long bushy hair that joined them.

"Hi, my name's Hermione Granger." The bushy haired girl nervously said as the boats set off, gliding leisurely across the glistening water.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harry. I'd say my last name but you'll find it out soon enough." The raven haired boy stuck his hand out, shaking Hermione's.

The Veela of the group sighed, "My name's Fleur, and just call her Tonks. She hates her first name for the most part, right Nym?" she innocently asked with an underlying teasing tone. Tonks just maturely stuck her tongue out at Fleur.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Tonks' action, "So what House do you guys think you're all going to be in? I personally want to go to Gryffindor."

Watching the boat glide effortlessly across the water Harry responded, "I think I can pretty much say that we're either going to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw." A few moments later and the boats stopped, having landed on the ground already.

All the first years got out of their boats and followed Hagrid up the damp cove that they landed in. At the end of the cove there was a slight hill they crossed over and they had their first sight of the castle they would spent the greater part of the year in.

To all, it was utterly breathtaking. There were numerous windows that had lights on, huge towers and even turrets there. It was an older style castle that was set with stone that looked for be hundreds of years old. All of the First Years began stumbling forward until they stopped staring at the castle and stopped at a huge oak front door. Hagrid banged once onto the oak door and it creaked open.

They all walked forward with Hagrid leading them up stone steps to where their entire luggage was at and a rather stern looking witch that was waiting for them. "Here yah go Professor McGonagall, the firs' years."

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take it from here." The newly dubbed Professor McGonagall briskly said. Hagrid nodded and wandered up the stairs. "Now then, I will only say this once: You will be here for the next seven years. I expect no trouble from you all. For those of you who do not know, there are four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

"Your House will be like your family. You will gain points for your House for good behavior, and for bad behavior, lose points. Follow me then to get sorted." She said, walking off and not bothering to look back. They would follow.

Harry, Fleur and Tonks were the first to follow her and they soon reached the top of the stairs with another oak door –albeit smaller than the last– and stopped next to the stern looking Professor. A few minutes passed before they all caught up. "Now that we are all here, tidy yourselves up to get sorted. I won't have any First Year coming into the Great Hall looking like they just got off of the streets." She said, walking off to give them a few minutes and to set up the sorting hat.

The blonde witch from earlier, Daphne, let out an exasperated sigh when she and Tracy finally found the trio, "Along the way I saw a few classrooms that looked abandoned at least, but we maybe should try to find one that's close to our house dorms."

Tracy just had to pipe in though, "Yeah, that and Malfoy was found along the way. Dear Merlin he is the most arrogant snob ever."

"I hear McGonagall coming, so let's continue this conversation tomorrow." Fleur interjected just as McGonagall approached the group, walking down the stairs from an upper floor.

"I hope you all are ready." McGonagall said, and pushed open the doors to the Great Hall.

A gasp of, "Ooooh." Was heard from the group as they walked up and gazed all around the Hall. There were a few comments about the way the roof of the Hall looked like the night sky, about the four different tables with the snake, eagle, lion and badger banners atop each of the four incredibly long tables from left to right from their perspective, the Head Table at the front of the Hall, the Ghosts that occasionally popped up here and there and the small chair with an old wrinkly hat on top of the chair. They all gathered 'round the end of the two middle tables near the table when suddenly the hat perked up and a mouth like hole appeared with a matching set of holes only smaller for eyes just atop of the mouth that began to sing.

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, never and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might just belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means _

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (thought I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause and laughter when the Sorting song ended. As the noise died down McGonagall pulled out a rather large piece of parchment and said, "When I call your name out, come up and put the hat on your head."

There was numerous whisperings of relief, anger and happiness that to be sorted was just to put a Hat on your head.

"Abbot, Hannah!"

A small girl with blonde pigtails ran up and sat down on the chair and put the hat onto her head, nearly covering it entirely. After a moment –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" roared the Hat.

Hannah took the hat off and walked quickly over to the Hufflepuff table on the right side of the hall. From that point on, the sorting stayed at that pace or even quicker.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" She quickly ran over and sat by Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brockelhurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Davis, Tracy!" The bubbly brunette had a nervous expression on her face as she walked up to the hat, but almost as soon as it was put on, it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!

"Delacour, Fleur!" Harry and Tonks looked at her with a smile.

She walked up, almost shivering from the stares she received and the anticipation from being sorted into a House. After the hat was placed onto her hair, the hat seemed to be murmuring to her and after a few moments roared out, "RAVENCLAW!"

She quickly took the hat off and quickly walked to the Ravenclaw table two tables over from the Hufflepuff table. Along the way she smiled to her friends and pointed to the table as if to say, 'Join this house with me!'

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnegan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Granger Hermione!"

After a few moments the hat roared out, "GRYFFINDOR!" and the bushy haired girl quickly ran to the table in-between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables with a happy grin on her face.

"Greengrass, Daphne!"

Harry and Tonks both waved to their new friend and wish her for the best.

When the hat sat on her head, a few moments passed and it seemed that the two of them – Daphne and Hat both – were almost having a conversation. A minute later Daphne smirked slightly and the hat did a slight bob of his head and shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Neville, Longbottom!"

A smaller pudgy boy quickly ran up to the seat and almost willingly hid his face with the hat. It took a few moments but the hat finally decided and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Neville ran off with the hat still on his head and just as he was about to sit down the hat grunted out, "Oi! Put me back up there Neville!" The hall burst into laughter once again as Neville ran up and sat the hat back onto the chair and ran back to his seat amid the gales of laughter.

"Well Nym, it's just me and you." Harry said with a wink.

"I guess so Harry." Tonks shot back.

"MacDougal, Morag!"

Like all of the Slytherins, it was an easy one second decision. "SLYTHERIN!"

"Malfoy, Draco!"

The hat didn't even need Draco up there to decide where he should go. "SLYTHERIN!"

From there the rest of the names went in a blur that Harry and Tonks could barely keep track of.

All they would remember if you had asked was, "Moon"… "Nott"… "Parkinson"… "Patil, Patil"… "Perks, Sally-Anne".

Then it finally came – Harry's turn.

"Potter, Harry!"

He heard Tonks say, "Good luck Harry." with an excited smile on her face. He responded with a smile back before walking up.

The whispers went wild.

"Is that THE Harry Potter? It can't be! He doesn't look like him!"

"Did she say, _Potter?"_ he heard while he was walking up to the sorting hat, morphing his features back to his original form. Before the hat totally covered his vision he saw most of the Hall clambering over themselves -and especially over their seats- to get a better view of the famous _Harry Potter._

A few moments into the sorting Harry heard a slight voice that was low enough to where no one would hear except for him. "Difficult. Very difficult. You have a very challenging mind Mr. Potter. You have so many traits that would fit well into any of the houses but there are also some traits that clash with them. You have loyalty to your friends that knows no bounds but it's limited to only that, your friends which aren't many. A thirst for knowledge that can hardly be sated, cunning that could make even a snake hesitate going against you and bravery in heaps."

_'Ravenclaw if you can hear me. I want to be with my friends, Fleur and Nym, so please sort me in Ravenclaw along with Nymphadora Tonks.' _

"Ahh, there's that loyalty that I was talking about. You can do well in just about any House so I think I will put you in Hufflepuff…"

_'You rotten ruddy –'_

"RAVENCLAW!"

_'You cunning damn hat. What's your name anyways?' _Harry mentally thought as he took the hat off.

"When you meet me again call me Atenor. Snape needs a word with you so make contact with him if possible." The hat, -now dubbed- Atenor, said quietly and worriedly for the last part.

"Thank you Atenor." Harry said gratefully and rose to meet Fleur at the Ravenclaw table.

"Thomas, Dean!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Atenor yelled out.

"Tonks, Nymphadora!"

Tonks scowled as her first name was said and her hair morphed unconsciously to red then back to pink. Suffice to say, everyone was sufficiently shocked that not one, but two Metamorphmagus' are now enrolled into Hogwarts.

It took a minute or so, but the hat finally seemed to agree with Tonks after an argument they had and the hat amusedly chuckled out, "Ravenclaw!"

She grinned happily and immediately sat on the left side of Harry, effectively sandwiching him in-between both her and Fleur. "We're finally done with the sorting," She peered over her shoulder and saw one boy left standing. "Okay never mind, one more left." She corrected herself.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Dumbledore stood up and everyone grew quiet. "Welcome! Welcome to a new year of Hogwarts! Before you all feast on the wondrous food we have waiting for you I have a few words I would like to say to you all: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you and enjoy the feast." He sat back down and clapped his hands once and all the goblets and plates began to fill up on the tables. Food of all sorts began piling up onto itself and just to name a few would be, roast chicken, pork chops, boiled and roasted potatoes, there was sausages, fries, Yorkshire Pudding and all sorts of vegetables just to name a few of the various foods.

"Is Dumbledore, I dunno, a bit mad?" Harry asked.

Tonks turned serious for a moment and pondered the words Dumbledore just said. "Not really. Think about it. Each of those words fits each of the founders as a term of endearment or insult. Helga was always known for being a plump woman so Blubber fits her or being a bit of an introvert so Oddment would also work; you have Rowena who was the smartest of the four as Nitwit and Oddment would work for her as well; Slytherin as he was slightly off his rocker towards the end of his stay at Hogwarts so Tweak would fit him perfectly, same for Nitwit as well and Oddment for Gryffindor for his odd tendencies."

By the time she finished speaking, everyone around her that could hear turned away and mulled over her words. Everyone seemed to accept it, but Fleur, Daphne and Harry all seemed incredibly shocked at the fact Tonks was serious.

"What have you done with Nym and where is she?" Harry playfully asked, receiving a half-hearted glare from Tonks.

"What!?" Tonks glared at Harry, "I can be smart every once in a while." She sniffed and held her head in the air with a pompous and arrogant expression making everyone laugh at her antics.

"Are you now a Malfoy?" Fleur uncharacteristically bantered at Tonks.

"You know, I am related to them." She sniffed and held her head up again before Harry and Fleur burst into gales of laughter at her antics.

Harry rolled his eyes and his eyes began searching the Head Table for the greasy haired professor. Severus Snape gave a small curt nod and Harry felt a presence in his mind. It came in and out three different times as a type of code that Snape had taught and Harry lowered his shields. What he saw was a memory of Dumbledore, but not his grandfatherly side, but the cold and hard side. There was also an underlying feeling that Snape pinned onto the memory: Caution.

The whole action took less than two seconds, and thankfully no one noticed but Dumbledore seemed to shift his head to Harry just as he made it seem he was turning his gaze over the Great Hall. The old wizard stood up and the dinner/desert vanished along with the drinks.

"Now that your bellies are sufficiently filled and throats nice and wet, let me impart a few words of warning to you all before you leave to your common rooms for a nice, warm, cozy bed. The Forbidden Forest is as the name implies, forbidden." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes shifted to the Weasley Twins who looked far too innocent for anyone to believe their act. "Also, I would advise anyone from going near the third floor corridor unless anyone would like to die a horrible, painful death.

"Now then, prefects, I believe you can take the first years to their new home for the rest of the year. Have a good night everyone!" Dumbledore cheerfully said with an inward scowl. _'Soon this farce will be over. Over ten years of it, and only four more until I can finally come out of the dark.' _

**_Yes, I know I copied a lot of the original chapter onto this one, but I really did not feel like writing nearly the same exact thing when I could've just copied and pasted, and edited it to fit this version better. _**

**_I didn't have any time really for a 'fourth chapter' so I'm sorry about that, I really am. I had to go out of town for a few extra days so instead of just seven days, it turned into eleven. _**

**_Next chapter will include the first month or so of Hogwarts plus a little more… hopefully haha. Have a good one and I hope to have you along board for next chapter!_**


	4. Hiatus

Hey guys, I'm sorry this isn't a new chapter but I have some... bad news to break to you guys. The computer I had stored all of my Harry Potter chapters written out on blew out and I lost about 10 1/2 chapters, and around 120k words. The computer I'm currently on is an old, old computer that runs incredibly slow so any updates of any kind will be somewhat slow in the making.

I'm going to be taking an Indefinite Hiatus from this story to eventually write it all back up so if you want, you can take the story and adopt it to continue the story. If in that case that does happen, I'll willingly give you an idea of how I wanted the story to go and the general direction of it.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I truly am.

-KuyouFox


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